


We've Got (No) Chemistry

by halfsweet



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:37:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4863434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfsweet/pseuds/halfsweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know what they say," Pete grins sheepishly. "Third time's the charm?"</p><p>"Pete, I swear to God, if I see this solution go bright fucking purple one more time, I will beat you with the measuring cylinder."</p>
            </blockquote>





	We've Got (No) Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone's back for holidays and the whole dorm is empty and the cafeteria is closed. I'm running low on instant noodles and oh, have I mentioned there are only two people on this floor, me included?
> 
> Also, based off of a prompt on Tumblr.
> 
> (also running low on angst juice)

Patrick glances around the lab nervously. His usual lab partner, Brendon, isn't coming for their first lab session.

_"I'm so sorry, Patrick. I'm coming down with a cold."_

He scoffs and crosses his arms in his seat. Patrick doesn't want to get stuck with anyone as his lab partner; he's already used to Brendon.

He slouches forward and waits for the teacher to come. He has already placed his bag on the empty seat next to him, as if to tell everyone that he already has a lab partner- who, apparently, got a cold from playing in the rain, Patrick huffs. Serves him right.

"Why the long face, Pattycakes Stumpy?"

His scowl deepens when an annoying voice rings in his ears. He doesn't need to turn around to know who's speaking to him. "Because you're here," he mutters angrily.

"Aw, Pattycakes, what did Pete Wentz do this time?" Pete picks up Patrick's bag and slides into the empty seat, staring at him with a faux innocent look in his eyes. "Come on, tell Uncle Petey."

Patrick rolls his eyes and props his elbow on the bench, resting his head on his palm. Pete has been annoying him since forever, and Patrick doesn't remember what he did in the past to deserve this kind of torture.

"For starters, Uncle Petey is being irritating as always."

Pete nods and leans forward, elbows propping on the bench and eyes glinting wide. "Uh huh. What else? What did Pete Wentz do to you? Do you want Uncle Petey to take care of him?"

Patrick scoffs and turns to face Pete, about to open his mouth when the teacher strolls into the lab, and everyone falls silent, even Pete.

"Today is your first lab session, and I want all of you to find a partner in one minute."

The lab is filled with murmurs as everyone moves to take their seats next to their partners. Pete stands up to go back to his seat, and Patrick quickly places his bag in the empty space next to him. His lab partner will only be Brendon, and Brendon only. Besides, he's already comfortable with Brendon.

He has no problem conducting the first experiment alone. The first experiment is usually the easiest, and he can just tell the teacher that his partner is sick.

"Okay, so, apparently, Trohman's ditching me for some chick."

Patrick stiffens when he hears the familiar voice next to him. "Oh, no." He frowns when he sees the look in Pete's face. "No. No, no, no, no. No way. I already have a partner."

"Yeah, who?" Pete asks him, raising his eyebrows.

"Brendon. He's absent today." Patrick places his hands on his bag, refusing to let Pete to sit next to him. "Go find someone else."

"If you don't have a partner in five seconds, I will fail you. So hurry it up." The teacher's voice booms in the lab. Patrick glances at everyone and finds that they all have partnered up, and Pete is the only person standing. Patrick thinks he must have looked like a fool for sprawling on the bench, just because he doesn't want anyone to sit next to him.

"Five."

Pete leans against the bench and smirks at him.

"Four."

This is all Brendon's fault.

"Three."

Patrick bites his lip.

"Two."

"Fine." Patrick blurts out, and Pete immediately sits on the chair next to him, still smirking. "I knew you couldn't resist Uncle Petey."

"One. Good. Now, today we're going to do a simple experiment on titration. Listen carefully, and I don't want any accidents to happen."

Patrick frowns as he turns to face the front, listening attentively to the teacher who is giving them a briefing for the experiment they're going to conduct. He is so going to kill Brendon for catching a cold. Now he's stuck with Pete as his lab partner.

-

"So, let's get started!" Pete rubs his hands together and scans the lab manual. "I can get the apparatus, and you can get the chemicals. That okay?" He asks and glances at Patrick for confirmation. Patrick, on the other hand, is surprised that Pete can actually be serious for once. He would have thought that Pete would ask him to get everything by himself. Maybe Pete isn't as terrible as he had previously thought.

"Yeah, sure." Patrick nods and takes the manual from Pete, making mental notes on what chemicals he needs to take. Pete has already gone to take the apparatus, so Patrick moves to get in line for the chemicals, grabbing two beakers along the way.

"One hundred sodium hydroxide, one hundred hydrochloric acid. One hundred sodium hydroxide, one hundred hydrochloric acid," he mumbles to himself so he won't forget the chemicals. When it's finally his turn, he places the two beakers down on the table and measures the volume for both chemicals.

He walks back to his bench, where Pete is already waiting with the apparatus. He puts the two beakers down gently and reads the manual for further instructions.

"What's next?" Pete asks him.

"Prepare the burette," Patrick answers as he takes the burette and clamps it to the retort stand. "Hand me the empty beaker."

Pete gives him the beaker, and he places the beaker under the burette tap. He opens the tap and motions for Pete to pass him the acid.

"Hey, we're partners in this. I don't want to stand around and do nothing," Pete pouts, holding the beaker of acid protectively with his hands.

Patrick frowns, but he complies at Pete's request. It's not that Patrick doesn't trust Pete to handle the experiment, but- oh, he's not going to lie. He really doesn't trust Pete to conduct the experiment. He just knows something is bound to go wrong. It's only a matter of what and when.

He watches as Pete pours a small volume of acid into the burette, a steady stream of acid coming out from the tap and into the beaker beneath it. He closes the tap, making sure there's no trapped air bubbles or leak, and waits for Pete to fill the acid up to the zero mark.

While waiting, Patrick takes the beaker below the burette and rinses it down the sink. He grabs a conical flask and starts to transfer the sodium hydroxide solution into it. After adding a few drops of phenolphthalein into it, he places a white tile under the burette tap.

"You ready to titrate this shit, Stumpy?" Pete turns and grins at him, to which he receives a bat on the arm in return.

"Don't call me that." Patrick glares and reads the manual. He steps on his toes, trying to get the initial reading of the burette, and records it down in his lab report.

"Okay. Open the tap slowly and close when I tell you to." Patrick looks at him, one eyebrow raised. "It's a simple task, so don't mess it up."

Pete gives him a mocked hurt look. "Why, Pattycakes Stumpy. Do you really have such little faith in me that-"

"Yes." Patrick deadpans and takes the conical flask and swirls it before placing it under the burette. "Open the tap. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go home."

Pete seems to agree with him and moves to open the tap of the burette.

"Slower," Patrick says, swirling the conical flask. Pete turns the tap, making the stream that comes out is smaller than before. Patrick notices that the solution in the conical flask turns into pink before becoming clear again. "Get ready to close the tap," he reminds Pete.

"Okay," Pete nods, his fingers twitching at the tap.

Patrick bites his lip, eyes fixed on the solution in the conical flask. _Just a few more drops._

"Close it." Patrick nudges him once the solution turns pale pink. Pete fumbles with the tap, and instead of turning it off, the stream becomes bigger.

Pete manages to turn the tap off and nervously glances at his partner. Patrick gapes at the conical flask in his hand. The previously pale pink solution, _the perfect, glorious shade of pale pink_ , has now turned into a bright purple solution.

"Um…" Pete swallows when Patrick doesn't move or say anything. "I'm sorry?"

Patrick puts down the conical flask and stands up straight, taking a deep breath. "Fill the burette again and get the initial reading. I'll rinse this out and prepare another."

He walks to the sink and rinses out the flask, then pours a fixed amount of the sodium hydroxide solution along with a few drops of the indicator into it.

"Be careful this time." Patrick scowls and bends down to get a good look at the solution. Pete gives him a nod, twisting the tap open.

Patrick watches as the acid streams out from the burette and swirls the flask. The moment he sees a pink hue in the solution, he gives Pete a signal. "Get ready."

"Now?"

Patrick keeps an eye close on a few droplets. _One, two, three._ Pink. "Now."

Patrick sees it coming. He already knows it's a bad idea to partner up with Pete, but at that moment, failing wasn't in his options. Now, he'd rather just have a big fat F for chemistry.

"You know what they say," Pete grins sheepishly. "Third time's the charm?"

Patrick's going to kill Pete, then Brendon. Or maybe Brendon first, then Pete. If Brendon wasn't so stupid to play in the middle of a heavy rain yesterday, Patrick wouldn't get stuck with the bane of his existence as his lab partner.

All the other groups have finished with their experiment and are now doing their reports, and they're still stuck in the beginning. Patrick grits his teeth and shoots Pete a death glare. "Pete, I swear to God, if I see this solution go bright fucking purple one more time, I will beat you with the measuring cylinder."

Pete mock salutes and begins to fill up the burette, humming merrily under his breath. Patrick purses his lip in annoyance and moves to rinse the flask again. He doesn't understand how Pete can be so careless and so annoying and- his eyes flick upwards to look at Pete, and so _good looking_.

He accidentally drops the conical flask into the sink, creating a loud clanking noise and attracting everyone's attention. He flushes under their gazes and picks up the flask. "It's- uh, it's not broken."

He keeps his eyes on the ground as he walks back to Pete. The careless, annoying, and _totally not_ good looking Pete, who is beaming at him. "I'm ready whenever you are!"

Patrick places the flask under the burette and nods at Pete, motioning for him to start. He bites his lip, concentrating hard on the solution in the flask. "Just a little bit more," he says to Pete.

"I'm ready," Pete replies, and adds as an afterthought, "for real this time."

 _Clear. Clear. Pale Pink._ "Now."

Patrick stares at the solution, then tilts his head to look at Pete, who stares back at him in bewilderment. The colour of the solution is _perfect_.

"Oh, thank God."

"We did it, Pattycakes!" Pete cheers, slinging his arm around Patrick's shoulder and pulling him close. "Third time really is the charm!"

Patrick lets out a relieved sigh and smiles. If anyone sees and asks, Patrick is _totally not_ smiling at Pete. Or blushing for that matter.

-

"Don't forget to hand in your report next week. Remember, you are not allowed to change your lab partner for the rest of the year."

"Did you hear that, Pattycakes? We'll be partners from now on!" Pete beams and bounces around in joy. "We're going to have so much fun! And, oh my God, we're so going to be best friends, and-

Patrick lets out a groan and thumps his forehead on the bench. A concussion from hitting his own head sounds so much better than a headache Pete is causing him. Dealing with Pete for one lab session was tiring and troublesome enough, but a whole year? He doesn't need any more headaches and migraines from the _totally not_ good looking Pete. He sighs and takes out his phone, seeing an unread text.

 _From: Brendon_  
_14:55:22_  
_so how was lab??_

 _To: Brendon_  
_15:05:35_  
_I'm going to kill you._

**Author's Note:**

> I will probably turn this into a series. Let's face it, there are so many hilarious incidents in lab. I've had some funny incidents during physics and chemistry labs, but I can't remember much about biology. The last time I had biology was 3-4 years ago :/
> 
> And I don't know much about American school systems, so forgive me for any mistakes.
> 
> Leave some comments!


End file.
